Practical Biomechanics: Standing as the Foundation for Motion

For a journey to begin, before even the first step, one must stand. This act, requiring relatively little effort, is by it's very nature NOT sitting. The challenge of modern life is that, with the exception of the bicycle seat, most of life has been adapted to prolonged sitting.

Fundamental to balance and fine motor dexterity, some ways of standing are more effective than others and in 1987 Scientists proposed that variations in foot position could significantly affect standing balance. They were ultimately able to determine the optimal position of and distance between the feet. Based on that same research, another group demonstrated in 2014 a link between "stress exposure and postural control".

Germany based Moticon are bringing biomechanic metrics together with consumer technology to award winning acclaim and are demonstrating what can be learned in the area of personalized gait monitoring and optimization. Applications for recovery from sciatica, bursitis, and knee pain are among the areas of particular interest here @ Fit & Well.

For those considering how to adapt less sedentary work-spaces, we find treadmill desks are ergonomically impractical at best and strongly are strongly discouraged. It is worthwhile to note that simply by standing the body will burn an extra 50 calories per hour which could mean 20+ pounds worth of extra, no-effort, calories burned per year. We suggest starting only with 1 hour at a time progressively working up to 6 total hours per day. Keep a pair of compression socks on hand for the early days and invest in a floor shock absorption pad. As a general practice, the benefit of simply getting up from your seat for a minute every 90 minutes throughout the day cannot be overestimated.

Sources: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3597457 https://www.spandidos-publications.com/mmr/11/3/2135 http://jn.physiology.org/content/85/2/559